Partner — Platton
Less-than-truckload is how most smaller freight moves. It's efficient when it's planned well — and a mess of reweighs, reclasses and delays when it isn't.
You don't always have a full trailer's worth of freight. LTL lets several shippers share one — but shared space means shared risk, and the details decide the bill.
LTL — less-than-truckload — is for shipments too big for parcel but too small to fill a trailer. You pay for the space and weight you use, and the carrier fills the rest of the trailer with other freight. It's cost-effective, but the price hinges on freight class, dimensions, weight and accessorials — and a shipment that's palletized and described wrong gets reweighed, reclassed and re-billed. Our guide on FTL vs. LTL shipping breaks down when each one makes sense.
For imports, the smart move is often to consolidate at origin and manage the LTL legs deliberately rather than let them happen by accident. A forwarding partner like Platton coordinates the international side and the handoff; on the US end, we transload and palletize freight properly so it's classed right and moves clean — and we handle the local and regional LTL delivery ourselves.
Priced right, moved clean
The details are where LTL costs blow up. We prep and move your freight so the bill matches the quote.
Talk LTL freightLTL isn't expensive or cheap on its own — it's expensive when nobody's minding the details and cheap when someone is. Accurate weights and dimensions, honest freight class, clean bills of lading, the right accessorials called out up front: that's what a strong partner brings, and it's what keeps a surprise reweigh off your invoice. Pair that with an asset-based carrier for the drayage and delivery, and the freight that shares a trailer doesn't share in the delays.
Less-than-truckload — freight that doesn't fill a trailer, so several shippers share the space and each pays for the portion they use.
Use LTL for roughly 1–6 pallets or when you don't have enough freight to justify a full trailer. Once you're filling most of a trailer, FTL is usually cheaper and faster. See our FTL vs. LTL guide.
Almost always a reweigh or reclass — the freight's actual weight, dimensions or class didn't match what was quoted. Proper palletizing and accurate descriptions prevent it.
Yes. We transload and palletize containers, then move the LTL legs regionally, coordinating with your forwarder on the international side.
Platton is a US freight forwarder for importers, handling origin booking, ocean and air transit and customs. More at platton.ai.